Rising Storm
by Theluckyfish
Summary: The Fourth Great Shinobi War is over, but a new threat is emerging to challenge the new found peace. It is up to the newest generation of Konoha ninja to save the shinobi world from destruction, lest the ninja and their way of life be lost forever. Post-Naruto series
1. Prologue

Title: Rising Storm

Summary: The Fourth Great Shinobi War is over, but a new threat is emerging to challenge the new found peace. It is up to the newest generation of Konoha ninja to save the shinobi world from destruction, lest the ninja and their way of life be lost forever. Post-Naruto series

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Prologue

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Momiji Village was a tranquil place. Its location in the Land of Honey was neither remote nor hard to reach, but the lack of any important trade routes passing through the area ensured the village didn't get many visitors. None of its inhabitants were particularly rich, but they lived a peaceful and undisturbed life.

They say the calm is always before the storm hits.

When the ninja came, the villagers were completely unprepared. Most of them had never even heard of shinobi, let alone seen one for real.

In the ensuing chaos that followed, a young boy, perhaps no older than six, stumbled wide-eyed after his mother. His father was gone, having rushed to the gates to help defend their beloved home. His mother, one arm full with carrying his infant sibling, clasped his hand firmly in the other as they attempted to navigate through the rapidly thickening crowd.

Ryou was scared. His mother, whom he'd never seen look frightened before, wore a barely concealed look of panic on her face. His younger brother was crying, his screams adding to the general chaos around them.

"Mother, where are we going?" Ryou had to shout just to make himself heard above the noise.

"To the other entrance to the village," his mother shouted back. "We'll go into the surrounding forest and wait for your father there." The words _if he comes back alive_ were left unsaid.

Ryou shook his head. _No_, he told himself firmly. _Tou-san will come back. He has to._

Just then, screams broke out anew among the crowd in front of them. When the ninja struck, it was with devastating, cold efficiency. One by one, people began to drop like stones, their faces contorting in screams of terror that would never get a chance to be released. For it was not they who were doing the screaming—their deaths were too quick for that—it was the people near them.

Ryou glanced at his mother, unconsciously seeking reassurance from the horror before them. Instead, what he saw only frightened him more. His mother's face was as pale as a sheet, but all of the fear had vanished, replaced only with a steely grimness and determination. If Ryou didn't know better, he'd say his mother looked ready to kill.

"Ryou, hold your brother," his mother commanded. Before he could protest, Ryou suddenly found his arms full with his younger sibling.

"What are you going to do?" he asked nervously. All of a sudden, he was very afraid of what the answer might be.

His mother crouched in an attacking stance. "Show them how a real shinobi fights."

Just then one of the ninja spoke. "Come quietly and we'll spare your lives."

"In your dreams," his mother spat back, anger distorting her voice so that it was hardly recognizable.

The ninja inclined his head. "So be it," was all he said before he attacked.

At first, Ryou tried to follow their fight, but all his untrained eyes could make out were blurs. He never even knew his mother could move that fast, part of him thought dazedly. And somewhere in the back of his mind a voice was urging him to _move_, to run away and hide, but fear (terrible, mind-numbing fear) had frozen his body.

Suddenly a rough hand gripped the back of Ryou's shirt, hoisting him up in the air. Ryou let out a pitiful shriek, almost dropping his brother, but luckily or unluckily, his limbs seemed to have been permanently glued in place.

As if alerted by his cry, Ryou's mother whipped around mid-fight, her eyes widening seeing Ryou and his brother's predicament. Unfortunately, the shinobi she was fighting took advantage of that moment to lunge forward, his blade set on a deadly course for her stomach.

Something must have shown in Ryou's face, for his mother twisted her body at the last second, the blade managing to scrape her side instead.

In the next second, however, the ninja was upon her, his arm drawn back to deliver the killing blow. Ryou opened his mouth, not exactly sure what he planned to do—shout a warning? Scream in fear? Cry for help?

He ended up doing none of those. The shinobi his mother was fighting suddenly jerked to a stop, his blade trembling a hair's length away from his mother's head. Slowly, the man backed away, his every step strained as if fighting an internal battle within himself.

Ryou's mother shakily stood up, one hand clutching her side. Ryou winced seeing it come away covered in red.

And suddenly his mother had dashed forward, her wound seemingly having no effect on how fast she could move. One moment, the ninja was holding the sword. The next, Ryou's mother had the sword in her hand and the ninja's head was rolling on the ground.

Ryou closed his mouth. He hadn't even realized it was open this whole time.

The shinobi still holding Ryou apparently wasn't as pleased with this turn of events, for he now shifted his grip so that his hand was around Ryou's throat instead.

"Drop the sword or the boy dies," he growled.

Ryou's mother laughed, but it had no real humor or joy in it. Her laugh scared Ryou almost as much as these ninja did.

"Who needs a sword," she began.

The man suddenly dropped Ryou, one hand going to his own throat.

"When I can take you down with your own body," Ryou's mother finished.

There was a sickening crunch as the ninja broke his own throat.

Before Ryou's stunned mind could even begin to register the fact that his mother had just killed two people (_two people!_) before his very eyes, she had turned away, her attention preoccupied by two other ninja that had moved to engage her.

The fight was over quickly, once one of the shinobi decided to run the other through with his sword. Ryou had the slightest suspicion that the action was not entirely voluntary.

"Ryou-kun, take your brother and hide," his mother addressed him for the first time since beginning the fight. Her voice was once again how Ryou remembered it—firm but gentle.

Still, Ryou hesitated. What would happen to her?

As if sensing his thoughts, Ryou's mother shook her head impatiently. "I'll be fine. Go!"

It was more out of surprise at his mother's abrupt change in tone than any conscious decision to heed her order that Ryou jumped to action. Cradling his little brother more tightly, Ryou dashed to the nearest house (abandoned now that its inhabitants had fled) and took cover in the bedroom closet.

Predictably enough, it was dark in the closet. For some strange reason, Ryou's little brother had stopped crying, although Ryou was grateful for the silence. The small space was oddly comforting, and he took advantage of this moment of peace to think.

His mother was a shinobi. Ryou himself had never seen a shinobi up until this point, but he'd heard of them. Despite not getting many foreign visitors, his village had a library that contained a wealth of stories brought in from the outside world. They'd never failed to entertain Ryou each time he visited, especially the ones about ninja. His mother had never liked him reading those kinds of books, however.

Ryou now wondered why. And why his mother had never deemed it fit to tell him that she had once been a ninja herself.

And suddenly more questions were racing through Ryou's head, some of them he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know the answer to. Was his father a shinobi as well? Was he fighting too? Were any of the villagers, men and women whom Ryou saw every day and had helped carry shopping bags for on more than one occasion, secretly people who could kill before the victim even had time to make a sound?

He must have been more tired than he thought, however, for in spite of the fact that his mind was whirring with these and a hundred more unanswered questions, Ryou fell asleep.

* * *

It was the deathly calm that awoke Ryou. Where before there were screams, shouts, and sounds of battle, now there was just deep, unrelenting silence. Even his little brother was quiet, despite being awake already.

Slowly, Ryou eased the closet door open. Satisfied at detecting no other signs of movement (although he couldn't be sure; apparently ninja were really good at being sneaky), he tiptoed over to the front door. Cracking it slightly open, Ryou peeked through the opening. And then promptly wished he hadn't.

The bodies of both dead shinobi and villagers littered the streets. There was so much blood, the whole place seemed painted with it. Not to mention it smelled bad, too. Ryou suddenly had to resist the urge to vomit.

Steeling himself, he opened the door wider and cautiously ventured out. In an effort to keep his mind off the fact that he was walking among dead bodies (with a shiver, Ryou realized he had never seen an actual dead body up until now), he made up a game of dodging the pools of blood around each fallen victim. At first, it was almost fun.

Until he saw the first person he knew.

Ryou had known Kayo-san since he'd been old enough to walk. She sold blooms by the corner in the marketplace, and whenever she visited, she'd always give Ryou a flower as a present. Of course, Ryou had stopped accepting them after a while, proclaiming he was a big boy now and didn't need all this girly stuff. Kayo-san would still give them to him anyway, the wrinkles on her face made all the more prominent by her smile.

Ryou stared down at Kayo's body. Her eyes were still open, her face frozen in an expression of pure terror. Ryou numbly watched the blood from the wound on her chest seep into the edges of his shoes.

Then Ryou was running, his breath coming in short, pained gasps. Where was his mother? Had she managed to fight off all those ninja? Or did she now look like Kayo-san, nothing more than a bloody corpse on the ground? His little brother had started crying again in protest to being jostled while running, but Ryou was hardly aware of it.

Unfortunately, he was aware enough of his surroundings to see many more dead bodies as he passed them by. The whole time, however, he did not encounter another single living soul. _Where was everyone?_ Part of his mind panicked.

Suddenly, a groan behind one of the houses drew his attention. Skidding to a stop, Ryou swallowed nervously. "Hello?" He called. His voice sounded weak and pathetic even to his own ears.

The answering silence was deafening.

Throwing caution to the wind (for there were probably still some shinobi out and about, although by this point Ryou couldn't bring himself to care), he carefully approached the spot where the noise had originated. And promptly tripped over an arm.

Ryou scrambled back to his feet, arms still clutched tightly around the bundled form of his baby brother. A ninja was lying face down in the dirt, so Ryou couldn't see his face. His limbs were dismembered, strewn haphazardly around his body. The one Ryou had tripped over was still holding a kunai.

Up ahead, two more ninja lay dead, one of them with his sword buried in the other's chest. Ryou would have gagged at the sight, had he not realized something.

These shinobi were on the same side, right? So why did it look as if one of them had deliberately killed the other?

Ryou felt a small smile start to spread across his face. Who else could have done this than his mother? The area did seem to have an unusually large number of dead ninja. This must mean his mother was somewhere nearby!

Ryou set off at another run, turning the corner of the house. "Okaa-san!" He cried. Abruptly he stopped, horrified.

Ryou's mother lay on her back, a nasty cut pooling blood on her side. Several more dead shinobi lay around her—but her eyes were closed.

Ryou slowly approached, afraid to make any more noise. His mother, however, suddenly slid her eyes open.

Ryou resisted the urge to cry in relief. His mother wasn't dead after all.

"Kaa-san?" he said again, hesitantly.

Ryou's mother slowly shifted her head in Ryou's direction, her eyes dull and clouded with pain. Ryou was almost afraid she couldn't recognize him until his mother spoke.

"Ryou?" she whispered.

Ryou dropped to his knees beside his mother. "Kaa-san, you need to get to a hospital. Are there any doctors nearby?"

Ryou's mother shook her head, a sad smile upon her lips. "Don't worry about me, Ryou-kun. Where is your brother?"

Ryou shifted so that his brother was in his mother's view.

Ryou's mother smiled. This time it looked genuine. "Good job, Ryou-kun. I'm proud of you. From now on, you'll have to take care of your little brother, ne?"

Ryou shook his head furiously. "What are you talking about? You'll take care of him too, right?"

His mother was wearing that sad smile again. "I've lost too much blood already."

Ryou didn't even realize he was crying until he tasted salt on his tongue. "We can still get you to a doctor! They can fix you!"

Ryou's mother attempted to pull herself into a sitting position before wincing and abandoning the effort. "Listen, Ryou-kun. You have to take your brother and get out of here. I managed to kill all of the remaining shinobi, but reinforcements will be arriving soon."

"Why? What do they want?" Ryou took a deep breath before asking the question that had been gnawing at him ever since he watched his mother kill those two ninja. "Aren't you a shinobi too? How come you've never told me this before?"

Ryou's mother lowered her gaze, her expression shameful. "I didn't like being a ninja," she said, her voice so quiet Ryou had to strain his ears to hear. "It's a bitter existence. I don't wish for you or your brother to have that kind of a life."

Ryou hesitated. Part of him dreaded the answer, but he had to know. "Is father a shinobi too?"

His mother shook her head weakly.

Ryou blinked, his vision suddenly blurry. So his father wasn't a ninja.

_He might have survived_, a small, hopeful part of him whispered. Assuming a few of the villagers had also once been shinobi and managed to save him in time.

Some instinct, however, told Ryou that his mother had been the only ninja in their whole village. Besides, the shinobi had come looking for _them_, not anyone else.

All of a sudden, Ryou felt very alone.

A weak cough drew Ryou's attention back to his mother. Her mouth was bloody. "Go," she rasped. This time, the command was delivered with much less strength behind it.

Numbly, Ryou stood. A childish part of his mind was still screaming at him to do something, to ignore what his mother had just said and try to get her to a doctor anyway, but deep down, even he knew how futile it was. Slowly but surely (and hating himself every moment for being too _weak_, for not being able to do more), Ryou's feet carried him away.

Away from the crumbling house and the dead bodies of the ninja.

Away from his mother.

Away from his home.

* * *

That night, Ryou watched his village burn. When his brother started wailing, Ryou didn't stop him.

.

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To this day, Momiji Village is no more. A pile of ashes and two lonely boys are all that remains.


	2. Chapter 1

Title: Rising Storm

Summary: The Fourth Great Shinobi War is over, but a new threat is emerging to challenge the new found peace. It is up to the newest generation of Konoha ninja to save the shinobi world from destruction, lest the ninja and their way of life be lost forever. Post-Naruto series

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Chapter 1: Troublesome News

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"That one looks like a bird."

"No, it looks like a turtle."

Pause. "Definitely a bird."

"Definitely a turtle."

"Bird."

"Turtle."

"Bird."

"Turtle."

Longer pause. "Bird."

An exasperated voice. "I'm telling you, it looks like a turtle!"

I sighed. "Tch, whatever. Troublesome."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Toshiro roll his eyes. "You're starting to sound more like dad every time we meet."

I yawned. "And you're starting to sound like mom," I shot back.

Overhead, the sky was a clear light blue, with only a few puffy clouds here and there. Perfect weather for cloud-watching.

The warm (but not too hot) temperature combined with the peaceful atmosphere all served to instill a sense of sleepy contentment in me. Sighing, I shifted a little so the wood of the roof lay more comfortably beneath my back. _I could get used to this_, I thought drowsily.

"You know how the Chunin exams are coming up?"

I opened one eye. Or maybe not. I turned my head slightly to face my brother. "Yeah? What about them?"

For the first time, Toshiro looked nervous. "Do you think I'm ready?"

I blinked slowly, unsure of how to respond. Believe it or not, my brother and I weren't actually that close.

"Do you feel ready?" I asked.

Toshiro raised his chin. "Daiki-sensei thinks I'm ready." His expression grew glum. "Sometimes, though, I don't know."

I was silent, thinking. If it were my dad, he would have just explained how the whole thing was "troublesome" and in the end, not really that big of a deal. I mean, take a look at our own Hokage for example.

Something told me that kind of answer wouldn't suffice here, however.

"As long as you try your best, you shouldn't be worried," I reassured him. "Remember to focus on the big picture. And watch out for traps. Just because the proctors _seem_ like they want you to do something, doesn't mean they actually do."

Toshiro nodded his head, his expression serious. Just then, I was struck by how young my brother really was. When I'd taken the Chunin exams, I had been twelve at the time, the same age as my dad when he'd taken them.

Toshiro, on the other hand, had breezed through the Academy, jumped three grades, and was taking the exams at the age of nine.

He had to be the most unconfident genius I'd ever met.

I returned my gaze to the sky. This time, however, I was thinking about the Chunin exams.

The exams are held twice every year at a different host village each time. When I took it two years ago, it was in Kumogakure. This year, it was in Konoha.

...Which explains my brother's visit here. Normally, dad and I don't see him much, since he lives with my mom in Sunagakure. Of course, I've visited him before in Suna, and vice versa.

I like it in Konoha much better.

No more words were exchanged between my brother and I as we continued to lie on our backs in peaceful silence, watching the clouds drift by.

Suddenly, a Sand shinobi dropped down next to us.

"Excuse the interruption," he looked slightly amused at seeing the two of us, the very picture of Nara laziness, lying side by side on the rooftop, "but Daiki-san wishes to see you." He was looking at my brother.

Toshiro scrambled to his feet, looking slightly dazed after lying on his back in the bright sun for an hour. "Hai." He looked back at me. "Guess I'll see you around."

I made a noncommittal grunt in the back of my throat as the two of them leaped away. Soon, it was just me lying on the rooftop.

I didn't even realize I'd dozed off until I was brought to an unpleasant awakening by a bucket of...something poured on my head.

Sputtering, I jerked awake. The mystery of the culprit was quickly solved when I heard a very familiar and, at the moment, very unwelcome laugh. "Ha! Do you see the look on her face?"

I shot an irritated glare at Inoue. Chozu, ever the peaceful mediator, looked worriedly between the two of us. "I tried to talk him out of it, Shizuka," he told me.

Inoue waved a dismissive hand. "And miss seeing the look on Shizuka's face? No thanks!"

I gingerly raised a hand to said face, wiping off some of the mysterious substance before inspecting it. "I'm guessing this was one of your drawings," I said to Inoue.

Looking slightly disappointed at my lack of reaction (actually, I was pretty pissed but I'd long since learned not to show it around Inoue—it just served to encourage him further), Inoue nodded. "Aa. I'm surprised you didn't detect it earlier."

I concentrated on wringing ink from my two ponytails. "And why is that?"

"I drew a turtle and made it crawl on your face so you would have plenty of time to wake up before it dumped ink everywhere. But it looks like you were sleeping pretty heavily," Inoue replied, smirking.

I gave up. The ink just wouldn't come out of my hair. _I'd have to take a shower later_, I mused. _Troublesome_... "How very generous of you," I said sarcastically. _And of all animals, it had to be a turtle too_, I thought, flashing back to the argument Toshiro and I had had earlier about clouds.

"Anyway, we came to tell you that Akane-sensei wants us down at the training grounds," Chozu quickly explained before Inoue could reply to my jibe.

I resisted the urge to groan. And here I was looking forward to a day with no work. "What for?"

Inoue hmp-ed, crossing his arms. "Training. What else? I swear, Shizuka, you're the laziest person I've ever met. I'm surprised you were even made chunin."

"Don't forget I'm the reason why we even survived the Island Turtle," I retorted, referring to the second part of our Chunin exams in the Hidden Cloud. "Besides, a good ninja thinks before charging into battle."

"Try telling that to the Hokage," Inoue muttered under his breath. I blinked. Well, yeah, I suppose our Hokage was a little…impulsive. But nowhere near as impulsive as he was back then, if the stories told by my dad and his friends were anything to go by.

Chozu cleared his throat. "Err…shouldn't we be reporting back to Akane-sensei for training?"

Inoue started, as if he'd forgotten the main reason he and Chozu had come to wake me up. _Knowing him, he probably had_, I thought sourly. I still hadn't forgiven him for the ink splattering incident. "Oh yeah!" He glanced at me. "Hmm…tell Akane-sensei we might be a little delayed. Shizuka has to clean all that ink off her face."

"Yeah, and whose fault is that?" I grumbled. For the first time, Inoue looked slightly abashed. I sighed. "I'll just wash this off. You guys go on ahead."

"No, I'll stay," Inoue offered. "It's the least I can do after pouring ink all over your face." _Gee, when you put it that way..._

"Then I'll stay too," Chozu added. "After all, what are teammates for?"

Looking at Inoue and Chozu, I suddenly felt an inexplicable emotion welling up inside me. We didn't always get along, but I knew as teammates, I could always count on them to watch my back.

Funnily enough, the only other time I'd felt like this was after our Chunin exams. _Nothing like a near-death experience to bring people closer together_, I thought wryly.

I cracked a smile. "Well, if we all stay, then who's going to tell Akane-sensei what happened?"

Inoue shrugged. "We'll just all be late together and suffer her punishment together."

I sweat-dropped. Then again, there was a limit to how much togetherness one could endure.

* * *

Ten minutes later, we arrived at Training Ground Five. Luckily, Akane-sensei was a pretty easy-going person in general. According to my dad, Asuma-sensei had been like that as well. Like father, like daughter, I guess.

So after taking one look at my grayed-out blond hair (courtesy of the ink I'd failed to wash out), the guilty look on Inoue's face, and the worried one on Chozu's face, it didn't take much for Akane-sensei to put two and two together.

Sighing, she shook her head. "What am I going to do with you three? As chunins, you should know better than to encourage this kind of infighting." This last statement was directed towards me and Inoue.

"We made up," I quickly said.

Inoue vigorously nodded his head. "Yeah. It won't happen again."

Akane-sensei raised an eyebrow. "_What_ won't happen again?"

The look on Inoue's face could not have been guiltier.

Akane-sensei shook her head, looking almost amused. "On second thought, I don't want to know." Raising her voice, she addressed the three of us: "I know it's been a while since I've called a team meeting, but now that things have calmed down a bit, I figure this is an excellent opportunity to work a little more on our Ino-Shika-Cho formation."

I frowned. It was almost imperceptible, but the overly relaxed posture Akane-sensei had adopted, as well as the slightly forced casualness in her voice, all signaled something was amiss.

Nonchalantly, I remarked, "It's true we haven't trained together in a while because of the sudden influx of missions, but around Chunin exams, most missions are put on hold. We could have met up any time this week for team training." I narrowed my eyes, adding, "Especially since tomorrow is the beginning of the Chunin exams."

Akane-sensei smiled. "I can't put anything past you, can I?" In response to Inoue and Chozu's confused looks, she continued, "As Shizuka said, I do have another reason for calling you here. Technically, the Hokage is supposed to tell you this, but he's a little busy right now.

"This year, the number of people competing in the Chunin exams will be the largest it's ever been. Along with the rest of the four great Hidden Villages, a number of other, smaller shinobi villages that are allied with the Leaf will be participating." Pausing, her face took on a graver expression. "And with this greater number comes a greater security risk. You three will be responsible for helping monitor things and guard against internal sabotage."

"But ever since the Fourth Shinobi World War, there hasn't been any major conflict between the ninja of the Five Great Shinobi Nations," Inoue interjected. "Why would we need to guard against internal sabotage?"

I glanced at Akane-sensei. Her expression looked uneasy. "During the last Chunin exams held in Kirigakure, there were some…suspicious events that took place," she answered vaguely. "We want to guard against the same thing happening in Konoha."

Chozu furrowed his eyebrows. "If there were suspicious events that took place, how come we didn't hear about it?"

Akane-sensei suddenly looked weary. "Right now, things are being kept under tight wraps," she explained. "I can't tell you any specific details, as this information is privy only to the Hokage and his closest advisors. All you _should_ know, however, is that your main priority is the safety of the villagers. If anything happens, don't go trying to play hero. Leave this to the jounins," this last statement was directed towards Inoue, who responded with a nervous laugh.

I shifted uneasily. If what Akane-sensei said was true, these Chunin exams may be one of the most dangerous yet—and not just for the exam participants themselves. Almost immediately, my thoughts flashed to my brother. At the age of nine, he would be one of the younger combatants. What if he was killed in one of these "suspicious events" Akane-sensei spoke of?

I inwardly shook my head. _Don't think like that_, I silently chided myself. _Toshiro will be fine_.

As if sensing the depressing turn our thoughts had taken, Akane-sensei tried to put on a reassuring smile. "Well, this isn't the best note to start off on our team practice," she said in an effort to remain cheerful, "But let's not concern our minds with anything that hasn't happened yet. Right now, we're just being extra cautious."

Caution, however, was something that could mean the difference between life and death for a shinobi. Granted, relations had improved dramatically between the Five Great Shinobi Nations since the war, but there were still several smaller hidden villages that weren't quite as willing to buy peace just because we great shinobi nations had said so. The war had also dealt a major blow to the economy and trade of some places, and as a result, thievery and poverty were still common.

Still, ordinary bandits and even ninja from smaller hidden villages didn't pose much of a threat to the Great Shinobi Countries. The events Akane-sensei spoke of must be _very_ upsetting to warrant such caution from the Hidden Leaf.

...Then again, ninja were also extraordinarily paranoid.

"Hey!" I jerked out of my thoughts to see my teammates had already moved into formation. Akane-sensei was nowhere to be found.

"Are you just going to stand there all day, or are you gonna help us beat Akane-sensei?" Inoue shouted impatiently.

I sighed as I formed the signs for the Shadow Possession Jutsu.

* * *

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**Author's Note: **Finally we meet the first of the Konoha Twelve's children! Hope you can guess who Shizuka's parents are. I think it's pretty obvious who Inoue's mom is, but you might have to squint a little to figure out the identity of the father.

And yeah, Akane is the daughter of Asuma and Kurenai. I read somewhere that in an interview, Kishimoto was planning to make their child a girl, so I went by that.

Reviews are greatly appreciated, and most important of all, motivate my lazy ass to start writing :)


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